Give mental healthcare in Florida adequate funding

12 Oct Give mental healthcare in Florida adequate funding

As the pioneer of the first mental-health court in the United States, I know that the response by the state of Florida Department of Corrections to certify corrections officers in mental health in response to documented abuses in Florida’s prisons fails to address the real problem.

The criminalization of people with mental illness has been a human stain on our state and nation for decades. It is largely a result of a statewide mental healthcare system that’s in shambles.

The failure of Florida’s policymakers to enact Medicaid expansion, for example, has driven our state deeper into crisis and solidified a race to the bottom, where Florida has languished at 49th in per capita mental-health funding in the United States.